Easter Day: Sunday, 20/04/2025
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OPENING SENTENCE OF SCRIPTURE –
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! This is the day that the Lord has made (Psalm 118)
HYMN-
GREETING
Grace and peace to you from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
COLLECT FOR PURITY
Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden:
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
SUMMARY OF THE LAW
Our Lord Jesus Christ said: The first commandment is this:
Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is the only Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.”
The second is this: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these. Amen. Lord, have mercy.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
God is love and we are God’s children. There is no room for fear in love. We love because God loved us first.
Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith.
SILENCE
God our Father,
we confess to you
and to our fellow members in the Body of Christ
that we have sinned in thought, word and deed,
and in what we have failed to do.
We are truly sorry. Forgive us our sins,
and deliver us from the power of evil,
for the sake of your Son who died for us, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
ABSOLUTION
God, who is both power and love,
forgive you and free you from your sins,
heal and strengthen you by the Holy Spirit,
and raise you to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen.
GLORIA sung by Sue St Joseph
COLLECT
Almighty God,
who, through your son, Jesus Christ,
have overcome death and opened the gates of eternal life:
grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of his resurrection,
may be raised from the death of sin by your life giving spirit;
through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end. Amen
PROCLAIMING & RECEIVING GOD’S WORD
FIRST READING: Isaiah 65.17–25, read by Simon Lidwell
17 I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice for ever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight. 19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people; no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it, or the cry of distress. 20 No more shall there be in it an infant that lives but a few days, or an old person who does not live out a lifetime; for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth, and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed. 21 They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
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23 They shall not labour in vain, or bear children for calamity; for they shall be offspring blessed by the LORD – and their descendants as well. 24 Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox; but the serpent – its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the LORD.
SILENCE
SECOND READING Acts 10.34–43 , read by Annabelle Guthrie
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34 Peter began to speak to those assembled in the house of Cornelius: ‘I truly understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ – he is Lord of all. 37 That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. 39 We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; 40 but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, 41 not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
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42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.’
GRADUAL HYMN
GOSPEL READING: Luke 24, 1-12 –read by Rev Dr Steven Ballard
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke Chapter 24, beginning at verse 1
Glory to Christ our Saviour
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1 On the first day of the week, at early dawn, the women who had accompanied Jesus came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in, they did not find the body. 4 While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. 5 The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. 6 Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’ 8 Then they remembered Jesus’ words, 9 and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. 11 But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12 But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.
Give thanks to the Lord for his glorious Gospel
Praise to Christ our Lord.
SERMON
The day of resurrection is come. We celebrate the Risen Christ. We praise God and, with the women who went to the tomb on that first Easter Day to find the tomb empty and the disciples who followed them – both on that day and down the ages since – we ask: “What does this mean?”
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I wonder if you have ever kept a diary. Not the kind with just the dates of meetings and activities that are coming up. But a diary, a journal, which is a day by day record of what you have done, who you have met, your thoughts and feelings as you journey through life. If you have, you will find yourself, perhaps some years later, re-reading it and comparing what you recorded at the time with your memory, your remembering, of those same events. Over time, dates slip, a lot is forgotten and intervening events colour what we remember and how we remember. The Gospels are neither diaries nor journals. They are records of people, of events and of attitudes, now remembered and now understood, interpreted and re-interpreted in the light of one event – the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The fact of the resurrection makes sense of the life of Jesus and of the experiences of those people who shared His earthly life with him. Without the resurrection, Jesus is just another good man – a healer, a teacher, a radical adversary of the established religious order. He is just another man who died by execution, a footnote in history. But the resurrection – the reality, the truth of the resurrection – makes sense of all that has gone before. Now Jesus is affirmed and vindicated as the promised Son of God, the One who shows to us the very nature of the living God. Now is the Victory of the Cross. Now is the healing of humanity’s relationship with God; the healing of the whole created order in God. Now healing – and therefore hope for all – becomes reality.
If the resurrection makes sense of the life of Jesus, then the resurrection also makes sense of your life and of mine.
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Luke’s account of the resurrection is followed by the story of two disciples making their way to Emmaus. They are feeling forlorn and, perhaps a little lost; the hopes they had seem to have been dashed by the crucifixion of Jesus. Then the risen Jesus joins them on the road but is not recognised. It is only as they share a meal, as Jesus breaks bread, that “their eyes are opened.” [Luke 24 v 31] Things begin to fall into place, to make sense. It isn’t that everything suddenly becomes clear; many questions, doubts and uncertainties will remain. But the journey of faith is begun.
My prayer is that our eyes may be opened to the truth of the resurrection this Eastertide; that we may begin, or continue, our daily journey of faith with the risen, living Lord Jesus, whose life, death and resurrection makes sense of your life and of mine – makes sense of life itself.
Amen.
THE CREED
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one substance with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father.
With the Father and the Son,
he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
PRAYERS
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To the bidding: Christ is risen
the response is: He is risen indeed
Let us pray
Heavenly Father, we have known of Christ’s resurrection all our lives and it is difficult for us to imagine the feelings of the disciples that first Easter. Help the church to spread the joy of the resurrection to those in the world who do not know of the love and care you have for them. Love which extended to the death of your own son and his rising again.
Christ is risen…….
Heavenly Father, the horror and brutality of the first Easter are played out in so many places across the world. We pray for the people of Ukraine, Gaza, Myanmar, Syria, Sudan, Afghanistan and wherever the hope of freedom is under threat. Guide all who seek to bring peace and justice to your world and direct the hearts and minds of the world’s leaders to seek the good of all people and not their own glory.
Christ is risen…….
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Loving God, during his life on earth Jesus healed the sick and comforted the sorrowing. We pray for all who need your healing touch at this time. May the knowledge of your presence give them strength for the days ahead; may those who care for them have the compassion which Jesus showed and may those who grieve know the strength of your comfort
Christ is risen…….
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Creator God, as we see signs of new life in the fields and gardens we praise you for the beauty of the earth you created and redeemed. Forgive us for exploiting and not nurturing its resources. Keep us mindful that we are the earth’s trustees for future generations.
Christ is risen…….
Heavenly Father, be with us in this week. Guide our thoughts and our actions that in all we say and do we may be witnesses of Christ’s resurrection
Christ is risen
He is risen indeed Alleluia Amen
Merciful Father accept these prayers for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Do not bring us
to the time of trial
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power
and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.
BLESSING
Christ the Son of God gladden your hearts with the good news of his kingdom; and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.
HYMN –
DISMISSAL
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord
In the name of Christ. Amen
